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I can remember a boatyard at Stokesby in the 80s, it was from where the boatshed is now

There was definitely a yard at Stokesby - not sure which though. I remember reading on NBF that the place fell into disrepair over a number of years. The boats just sat there and literally sank! The story was that the operation was a husband and wife team and as I remember it, the husband found out that the wife had been playing away and through either just loss of interest in the business or perhaps a deliberate act to run down the value of the business in the event that a divorce settlement would follow. (Just as I remember it - no first hand knowledge)

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At that time, there were a few cruisers available on the Severn and Avon. Apart from Evesham Marina I remember Corsair Cruisers at Upton-on-Severn having Bountys, including what are now Evesham Light and Malvern Light at Herbert Woods (then Malvern Corsair and Upton Corsair). I think Corsair Light may have been there also. I never really understood why the Severn and Avon went narrow boat-only not long after. You used to be able to take a cruiser on the Avon between Tewkesbury and Stratford-on-Avon and on the Severn between Stourport and Gloucester.

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I love to see the old brochures and what amazes me is that in spite of being an anorak boat spotter since the 70's I am still seeing boats and yards that I never knew existed weird designs that can only have been around for a matter of seasons. I never know Highcraft had a base at Stokesby and whilst I knew there used to several yards at Thorpe I have never heard of Reliance Boat Co. or Alex Underwood Cruisers or indeed Treasure Craft at Brundall. What's strange is that some of these yards didn't even appear in the What to do on the Norfolk Broads guides of the 70s which supposedly listed all the yards, presumably they were short lived operations. It does explain why there were 120 yards on the Broads in the 70s when Blakes and Hoseasons only listed about 100.

Neil

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More images of pages from Hoseasons and Blakes brochures for those who like to see them - this time 1975 and 1976.

Blakes brochure - notice Petit Barsac which at 19ft length must havebeen the shortest boat for hire on the Broads - unless you know different? Sanderling at the bottom was the first boat we hired in 1973, which in March cost us £29.

Wishing Waters from Ripplecraft in Somerleyton had the distinction of being dual steer, incorporating a sort of flying bridge. Visionary thinking?

Hoseasons brochures. We hired Calypso King in it's first season.

Take a look at the Oulton Broad houseboats for hire - all gone now.

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Don't know whether I should tell this story, after all these years but the girl on the front of Hoseasons' brochure is Keith Gregory's wife Christine, who was a professional model when he married her. It caused a big laugh around the boatyards at the time, as Keith was a director of Jenners, when they were owned by the Caister Group, and were members of Blakes!

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Vaughan,don't know if you can help.My mum and myself hired a boat in 1974 from a boat yard in Loddon or Chedgrave. Think it was a steel chilled boat called Capri.Not sure is was From Hoseasons or Blake's.

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Thanks for posting photos again David. Wow, what a treasure trove of 1970s hire boat history those pages are. I wonder if Wishing Waters was the first ever dual steer? Funny to think that Amber Gem, still on hire over 40 years later of course, was ultra-modern in those days. I learned something from the houseboat page because I had no idea wherries, including Hathor, were used as houseboats at Martham. What happened to Bramble?

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I learned something from the houseboat page because I had no idea wherries, including Hathor, were used as houseboats at Martham. What happened to Bramble?

I remember seeing the two wherries there (as houseboats) when we used to hire a half-decker from Martham (my parents used to hore a cottage either at Repps or Ranworth (Malthouse Broad). Likely to have been the early 1070s.

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I remember seeing the two wherries there (as houseboats) when we used to hire a half-decker from Martham (my parents used to hore a cottage either at Repps or Ranworth (Malthouse Broad). Likely to have been the early 1070s.

I never realised you were quite so old - did you meed william the conqueror

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I remember seeing the two wherries there (as houseboats) when we used to hire a half-decker from Martham (my parents used to hore a cottage either at Repps or Ranworth (Malthouse Broad). Likely to have been the early 1070s.

In between the Romans and the peat-diggers then. You must have been responsible for some of the Broads!

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More great brochure pictures, in answer to the smallest boat question although my parents hired Petit Barsac from Bondons in 1963/4 my Dad always told me that the smallest boat was Peter Pan (an aft cockpit) at 17ft and the largest was Enchantress (60ft?), I believe they both get a mention in the Broadland Memories website. With regard to Water Gypsy I do believe you could steer from the front and back and its dates from cc 1953, the Ripplecraft dual steer appears more like a 60's built boat although I maybe wrong.

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With regard to Water Gypsy I do believe you could steer from the front and back and its dates from cc 1953, the Ripplecraft dual steer appears more like a 60's built boat although I maybe wrong.﻿

Yes, there are a number of dual steer craft in the brochures above which are both front and rear steer. i was actually referring to Wishing Waters as one of the first which had in effect, a flying bridge. Ripplecraft at Somerleyton had another couple of boats of similar style which had flying bridges. Dazzling Waters and Calm Waters. All are similar styles but different lengths. It stuck me that Ripplecraft really were designing boats ahead of their time as today it's the hire boats with flying bridges which are the most sought after.

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More brochure pages, this time from 1987. I particularly liked the Blakes "painted" cover. Sorry, the Hoseasons cover is a little battered, (could even be a gravy stain). I have chosen pages mostly of boatyards which no longer exist, but were "stand-out" yards at their peak.

Interesting that Rhapsody in the first image below is hired by Classic Cruisers in Thorpe, and that it look similar to High Fantasy from Highcraft in Thorpe, featured in the first of the Blakes brochure images below. Were they the same company. but using two boatyard names to sell through both Blakes and Hoseasons?

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Some memories their, my family hired Phoenix from potter. Seem to remember she had a green painted hull back then ? And I'm sure it's around the time of the massive investment in the richardsons fleet.